1:30 in the Morning!

And I am wide awake. I mean WIDE awake. My mind is racing, all I can think about is how to salvage the last 3 semesters of making no money and working my ass off. I actually think I am coming up with a plan. I think it will be a good plan. Except that it will involve some student loans. But, if I'm getting student loans for law school anyway, what's one more semester. And at least this way it means only one more semester, and my degree for sure. I'll think about it until Friday, maybe get some input. See how this all shakes out. Back to the whole, it's 1:30 AM and I'm wide awake thing. A quick look through Comcast free movies On Demand turned up The Usual Suspects. Benicio Del Toro is sexy. Make that Sexy, with a capital S.

Oh

Oh my god Oh my god Oh my god I just got news. Not good news. My advisor has decided that University is not for him. He is leaving for a job in industry. With him goes my funding and my thesis. Right out the window. I am going to wait until Friday before I really start freaking out. Hopefully things will work themselves out. They usually do right?

Ass

I was just listening to the radio, and the smug, asshole announcer was mocking one of his listeners who was apparently unfamiliar with e-mail. He was making fun of him for addressing his e-mail to (DJ's-name)at(radiostation).com instead of (DJ's-name)@(radiostation).com. He went on and on about how it's called an ampersand people... an ampersand, like an a with a circle around it... an ampersand you idiot... Well, an ampersand is the & symbol. Idiot.

Halloween '07

For me, Halloween '07 looked a lot like '06, and '05, given that I will insist on wearing this costume until it falls apart or I can't squeeze into it anymore. Unfortunately I forgot to put on my cuffs before we left the house and people called me out on it all night. Meh. I have said it before, and I am sure I'll say it again, but it is really fun running around town in bright blue panties. It really makes me come out of my shell. (Yeah, because that's hard to do...) I know there's a lot of slutty costumes for girls on Halloween, and I just wanted to make sure that this costume isn't slutty. I don't feel like it is, because even though it is kind of tiny, it's historically accurate. Or televisually accurate. Sort of, best I could do. Loved Suzie's last minute costume, and really loved that she changed her mind and decided to come out with us after all! It ended up being a really fun night. So fun that we forgot to take a bunch of pictures, we only have a couple. Jill also broke out he old standby, Uma circa Pulp Fiction, she forgot the fake blood and her syringe, but really she's just all about that wig. Suzie looks fantastic in this picture, if only her eyes were open! And finally, the aftermath... we may have overindulged, a bit. Jill pulled her patented "no really, just let me sleep out here in the yard," and when we got inside she had to boot for a while, then she hung up her drawers because she was throwing up so hard she peed her pants. I almost couldn't type that it's making me laugh so hard.

At least she didn't smooch a 20 year old who was in the bar with a fake ID. I knew something was up when he said, "Man, older women are so hot." Older Women? I'm only 27!

I am Trying to Kick the Habit

I swear I am, but it's hard. Every time I talk to The Boy he gives me a reason to like him a little less. Um and maybe a little more too. Did I mention he is the king of mixed messages. I am, right now, watching the Bronco game on Monday Night Football. One of the announcers makes a little joke about his counterpart having a little man-crush on Jay Cutler. I immediately think of The Boy, his big-ass man-crush on Mak, and our running joke about it. Just as I am chuckling to myself the phone rings, guess who it was, calling to chuckle too. Cute right? I know. The he mentions that his flight on Thursday doesn't leave until noon, so he won't be down on Wednesday night after all. Shocking I know. "Maybe I can see you on Sunday when I get back into town?" Yeah right, I'll hold my breath.

Brunette Barbie

After waking up Saturday morning feeling 110% better and after working for a while I got ready for the evening and headed to Denver. I did my hair and make-up and packed my costume so I could change and go after dinner. Met the Ladies (and Nick)at Solera for a World Series Baseball special, 2-for-1 glasses of wine and a selected bar menu during the game. Ivory was able to join us (Jamie was obviously at the game) and now I totally get what people mean when they say that the expecting glow. Pregnancy definitely suits her. Tanya looked great with her new specs and dramatic bangs. Suzie joked that with my over-the-top hair and make-up (we were going to a Halloween party later) and my excellent cleavage (if I do say so myself) that I looked like Brunette Barbie. I was kind of tickled. This might be the best picture of Jill I have ever taken. I wish I had a solo shot of Suzie, her new hair color photographs really well. See! It looks great, in fact, this is a really great photo of everyone. Mmm, great big glasses of 2-for-1 wine. I had the really great 2006 Ferrari-Carano Fumé Blanc (OK actually I ended up having several) that our server suggested. It was a little sweet, but not overly so, with really crisp pear notes. I am not even going to mention the little altercation we had with the bitchy woman who was breast-feeding her baby at the bar (not just in the bar, actually sitting at the bar). OK, I mentioned it, but that is not getting anymore of my attention. I will say that the wine was good, but I was disappointed with the food, as well as the managers attitude during the "incident", I certainly won't be returning. it was awesome to get together with everyone, I wish we could do it more often, but I'll settle for every once in a while, when thing work out just so.

Work, Monday Morning

In an effort to make up for being out sick last Thursday and Friday, I came in super early to get a jump on my work. I am planning to work all day and stay as late as I need to today to finish everything on my list. Shouldn't be a problem, but it's going to be a long day. The benefit to what I'm doing now is there is a lot of down time, lost of waiting for things to filter or grind, which means lots of time to multi task. Expect picture from the weekend later. Happy Monday.

It's not a hickey!

I swear it's not a hickey, but it sure looks like one. (I burned myself with a curling iron, who hasn't done that?)

Maybe I Overreacted

It's probably not strep. They did a culture just in case, but said it doesn't look like strep. No fever. I guess I was just overreacting, but you would too if you got sick as often as I do. And I hate doctors. A couple of years ago I had strep for like the seventh time that year, and didn't go to the doctor until it my lymph nodes swelled up so much that I couldn't breathe and had to go to the emergency room and get a shot of penicillin in the ass. A shot of cold, thick penicillin with a huge, huge needle. In the ass. From a really hot doctor. So now I just go to the doctor right away. So I'm just going to drink a ton of water, go to bed early, and hope that when I wake up tomorrow i feel better. I'm going to go to work tomorrow and probably Sunday and get done what I would have gotten done today. The flirty-texter Dan came over to watch the game. I made soup, he brought a six pack of beer. Before long he was putting on the moves, and I just knew, absolutely, that I wasn't interested. I've been having fun hanging out, and climbing, but the thought of kissing him made me jerk my head away, almost unconsciously. I told him that I enjoy his company, but that he's just not the right guy for me to get involved with. He countered that he had always had a crush on me, and didn't know why I had stopped calling him. I had to remind him that the last time we were together, he got all awkward and told me "this just can't happen again," before unceremoniously shuffling me out the door. No wonder I stopped calling him (and returning his phone calls). It felt great to say to him everything I thought and felt with no pretense or subterfuge, to just be completely honest and forthcoming. To not play any game, nor hold anything back. I realize now that I really wish I could be so forthcoming with The Boy. I wish I could just communicate how I'm feeling without being scared, or getting upset. Without my face burning or my voice cracking. I can't though, so I don't. I guess I'm afraid that if I tell him the truth, that I'm not trying to be his girlfriend (I mean we don't even live in the same town), but I like him and don't want to be friends with benefits or anything unseemly like that, that he'll just sort of vanish. Well, more than he has already. I'm fine being friends, but every time I talk to him, he can't help but remind me how just not into me he is. I don't really need it rubbed in my face. He's kind of a flake and I need a little more attention than I could get from him, plus he's just too young for me. But he didn't really have to point out that he's only visiting because he needs somewhere "to crash, you know like your couch." I get it, I get it.

I'm Sick!

Yesterday I had a wicked, almost-migraine bad headache and now a sore throat. For me that almost always means strep. I'm going to the Doc in a little while for a culture. I get strep with astounding regularity, and I'm so not in the mood.

The Showerhead?

So, the Rockies aren't doing so well. It's the sixth inning, and it's 13-1 Boston. Whatever, it could be 50-1 or 2-1 but it's still just one game. This post really isn't about the Rockies. Although the microphones in the dugout picking up on the players talking about Taco Bell's promotion (a free taco for everyone if anyone steals a base during the World Series) is pretty funny. I'll admit to a little channel swapping during this game. I got a little bored, I switched over to Private Practice for a while, and for an hour I only watched the Rockies lose during commercial breaks. This post is about Private Practice. So if you care, and you haven't seen it yet, stop reading now. OK then. This episode was about a lot of things, but this post is about only one of those things. Scratching that itch. Ladies taking care of, ahem, business for themselves. Addison tells Violet and Naomi that she doesn't do "that". (First, I call shenanigans.) The ladies (in true TV land form) talk about their fantasies and their showerheads. And I got to thinking, I haven't taken care of business for a while. I ran out of inspiration, I used to think about a certain man's mustache (don't bother with the lecture, I know, I know), but that has certainly lost it's luster. I am in need of a little inspiration. What's your inspiration?

Working for the Weekend

I feel like every week I get to Wednesday and sigh, " I can't believe it's only Wednesday, and by the way, could this day be any longer...". I am in a serious rut lately, and it has everything to do with my (stalled) research. Thank god we have this big ore project, or I would feel completely useless. The silver lining is that despite their losing my chamber, finding it, losing the blueprints for the modification, and forgetting to order the parts, I heard back from the guy at the machine shop this morning that everything has been ordered, and as soon as the parts arrive it should be a matter of days before the modification is done and the chamber is back in the lab. Until then (and frankly until the completion of the project) I will be up to my elbows in ore doing flotation tests. Which is fine, but I'd like to at least get started on my research, so I can actually graduate someday. In other silver lining news, I can't wait for the game tonight. Hopefully I can get home by 5 so I can take Murph for a nice walk before the game starts. I have been so busy at work lately, that I have kind of fallen into the "I'm too busy to go to the gym" routine. Which really isn't true, the truth is I've been too lazy to go to the gym. This laziness is manifesting itself in the form of back fat. The most repulsive kind of fat. I dig on big-boob fat, and I love when I get huge-ass fat, but I have to draw the line at back fat. No kind of self-delusion can turn it sexy. I did go to the climbing gym Monday night with flirty-texter Dan. It was great to get climbing again, I haven't been in a couple of months. My regular climbing buddy broke his foot, and I'm not great at making new friends. I had a nice time, and I'm sure we'll go again, but not this week, there's baseball to watch folks! And finally, I guess when it rains, it pours. Only in my case it's pouring men I used to sleep with but haven't talked to in ages. Last night it rained in the form of a man named Steven from Austin. Steven was a vacation fling (read one-night stand), from two summers ago. I'll get random text messages from him about every six months, and I'm always surprised. I was visiting Jill in Austin, and after a fun night out at the bars we went to Steven's house with some folks for some bar-time drinking. Well, really so I could make out with the hot guy, Steven. Jill was concerned about her boyfriend who hadn't been returning her calls all night, so when it looked like I had things under control she took of to go to the boyfriends house. I stayed. Jill got into a huge fight with her boyfriend couldn't come back to get me until the morning. So, twist my arm, I stayed at the house of Steven. In the morning I called Jill to come pick me up, and couldn't get a hold of her. For hours. I was desperate for a cup of coffee, my toothbrush, and generally just to get out of there. I think he was too because he kept asking if he could take me somewhere, anywhere. Well I had never been to Austin before, had no idea where Jill lived, so I really couldn't leave. We sat on his couch and watched World Cup Soccer for hours. I can't believe I haven't ever been ax-murdered.

Kill the wabbit - What's Opera Doc?

Success!

Unexpectedly, Friday night, I got an e-mail containing my LSAT score. 161, I was shooting for a 160, so I'm as pleased as punch. If you know about the LSAT, you'll know this isn't the greatest score (a 161 equates to the 84th percentile), but I'm not trying to get into Harvard, so I think it's just great. Now I just have to start filling out those applications.

Crawl for Cancer '07

Woohoo! Pictures from the '07 Crawl for Cancer can be seen here. So the weekend was awesome. I had a blast and I was in bed by 10 pm both Friday and Saturday nights. Sorry guys! No new boys to blog about, but there was some serious quality bonding time with great friends and my awesome parents. Today was a great day, I haven't had a Sunday to myself in ages. I woke up in my own bed, cleaned my apartment, and spent the rest of the day playing with the picture from this weekend and watching T.V., maybe lazy, but also very relaxing. I opened a bottle of champers and ordered a pizza for the Bronco game. Might be the perfect Sunday night too. Here are a couple of highlights

Go Rockies!

You know, the Colorado whatever-they're-called. Going to the World Series. How in the hell did that happen? We don't know either. But I think it's funny that TBS didn't make a commercial about the Rockies until after they won the NLCS. But it was funny that the whole time we were sweeping Arizona we had to watch stupid Dane Cook extol the virtues of the D-backs.

My Kind of -Athalon

I am getting excited about my weekend! Tonight I'm heading to my folks' place to hang out and visit for a bit, then in the am I'm going to Suzie's for brunch then we are meeting downtown for a Pub Crawl, proceeds benefiting cancer research. Lots of drinking for a good cause, I like it.

Something weird is going on...

First my climbing buddy The Hippie called this morning, when I answered the phone he opened with... "Hey Sexy Drea..." Weird. He's called about every three days for the past three weeks. We made plans to go climbing this afternoon. Turns out I had a meeting run late and had to cancel, flirty texting ensued. He actually told me he would miss the opportunity to ogle me. The Hippie and I used to sleep together, a few years ago we lived across the street from one another. We'd walk home from the bar, drink some beers in my living room, and then make out while we argued about politics. Then we stopped. Sleeping together, not climbing or hanging out. I never missed it, my feelings were never hurt, I guess I just didn't care, and I don't think he did either. But it hasn't been on the menu for years. Then the boy called and said he'd be in town in a few weeks and wanted to take me to dinner, "like a date, you know?" Yeah I know, but why does it always have to be on their terms. That shit pisses me off. I kind of want to shake the shit out of him. The Mr. Octopus Hands texted with a party invite for Friday night. He seems kind of cheesy, but he was a really good kisser. What? I went back to Suzie's and slept on the couch, but like I said he was everywhere, some lips might have snuck in. I'm only human, plus my feelings were hurt, of course I'm going to get drunk and smooch a little. I am looking forward to Saturday night. Irons in the Fire.

It can't really be only 2:30?

I am having one of those impossibly long days... I came in this morning with plenty to do, you could say my dance card was full. That is until I scoured the lab and found all of the ore I needed to run tests on missing. An e-mail sent to the boy who hid them sent at 10 am has yet to receive a reply. We have some clients in from Columbia, and a meeting with them at four or I would just call it a day. The real problem is that now I'll have to process that ore tomorrow. God my job sounds boring.

Unrequited

Have you ever liked someone who didn't like you back? It's just about the most pathetic feeling ever. Especially when you described him to you friends as the "coolest, most amazing guy" you'd ever met. Really, you don't feel sad, or lonely, you just feel pathetic. PATHETIC. Especially when you would have sworn, under oath, that he was every bit as into you. And you actually made the effort, put it put out there, instead of being the chicken shit you usually are. God I hate feeling stupid. And I hate him a little for making me feel stupid. At least I have my sweet Murph (napping on my knitting) and this box of wine to keep me company. Oh, she knits and drinks alone? Hot!

New Blogs I Like to Read

I use this blog like a journal (although I hold a lot back, it's none of your business), and as a way to share pictures with you guys. I don't consider myself a "Blogger". I'm not trying to be discovered or get a book deal. Let's be reasonable, I'm a metallurgist. By "Blogger", I am referring to the talented writers whose witty, funny, enlightening posts I enjoy. Lots of them I enjoy daily. I know that they have their own blogging community, and I'm not trying to get in on that action. I enjoy this cyber-voyeurism that I partake in, actually I enjoy it so much that I like to share it with you. That's why I have that long list (to the right, there it is), these are peoples blogs that I enjoy a lot, I read them everyday, and sometimes I even work up the courage to leave a comment! There is a method to my madness, I don't just happen upon a blog, think it's kind of funny and add it to my link list, I'm not that easy. Oh no, I bookmark it, audition it if you will, and after a couple of weeks of consistent funny, I upgrade them to my permanent link list. Don't get me wrong, I know this power I wield is mighty, I take that responsibility seriously. I am the queen of my kingdom. Sometimes I feel a little bad about this lurking I do, but what's the point of posting your writing on line if you don't want strangers to read it?

World Series

First team since expansion to sweep both the division and the league championship! Second team ever (1976 Big Red Machine) to do so! The look on Todd Helton's face as he made that last play... MVP...MVP...MVP... Go Holliday! Seriously, the Rockies going to the World Series? Awesome!

Congratulations Ivory and Jamie!

Big Congrats on the new baby on the way! Check out their new blog for updates, the link is to the right.

Golf, Vikings

Saturday dawned cold and wet, but despite the potentially off putting weather, we persevered and went golfing anyway. It ended up being a beautiful day, and a great round of golf. After golfing, Mike, Suzie and I lunched at The Cherry Cricket (awesome burgers, no, really, really terrific), then Jill met us at Suzie's house. Outfitted in Suzie's magic jeans that make my ass look like I spend 2 hours a day at the gym, we went out to Sengers on the Fax, my new favorite bar. Mike and Suzie stayed for a few hours, when they went home, Jill and I went to Rock Bar and danced a lot. After Rock bar we went to the home of some of Suzie's neighbors and drank many of their beers. This guy had the octopus hands. You know, you're just sitting there and all of a sudden his hands are all over you, and he must have eight of them because they are everywhere, despite your attempts to wriggle away. I did enjoy the viking helmet. And his pick-up line... "Hey, you're pretty, wanna' thumb wrestle?"

Fun Winter ('06)

Last night Suzie and I checked out some old pictures from fun winter and she was kind enough to share them. This picture of us playing caps is one of my favorite pictures of Suzie and I, thankfully I was able to edit out the crazy red eyes! This picture of Jill and me wrestling cracks me up! These three pictures also crack me up. Fun Winter was fun!

Go Rockies!

I know that it's a bad idea to drink and blog, but I just feel like it. I had a great weekend. My plans drastically changed, and I was pretty disappointed, but things turned out great. I have some great pics from the weekend that I'll share tomorrow, and some great pictures from Fun Winter ('06) that I got from Suzie. Go Rockies!

Plus

What the shit does Brittney have against panties?

Colorado Rockies

Why do all the announcers hate on the Rockies? And why do they have to go into extra innings at midnight? I have a tee time tomorrow morning! And shut up about the damned black jerseys!

Ann Coulter is such a bitch. She's got to be satirizing hasn't she?

Why Engineers Don't Write Cookbooks

Chocolate Chip Cookies Ingredients: 1.) 532.35 cm3 gluten 2.) 4.9 cm3 NaHCO3 3.) 4.9 cm3 refined halite 4.) 236 cm3 partially hydrogenated tallow triglyceride 5.) 177.45 cm3 crystalline C12H22O11 6.) 177.45 cm3 unrefined C12H22O11 7.) 4.9 cm3 methyl ether of protocatechuic aldehyde 8.) Two calcium carbonate-encapsulated avian albumen-coated protein 9.) 473.2 cm3 theobroma cacao 10.) 236 cm3 de-encapsulated legume meats (sieve size #10) To a 2-L jacketed round reactor vessel (reactor #1) with an overall heat transfer coefficient of about 100 Btu/F-ft2-hr, add ingredients one, two and three with constant agitation. In a second 2-L reactor vessel with a radial flow impeller operating at 100 rpm, add ingredients four, five, six, and seven until the mixture is homogenous. To reactor #2, add ingredient eight, followed by three equal volumes of the homogenous mixture in reactor #1. Additionally, add ingredient nine and ten slowly, with constant agitation. Care must be taken at this point in the reaction to control any temperature rise that may be the result of an exothermic reaction. Using a screw extrude attached to a #4 nodulizer, place the mixture piece-meal on a 316SS sheet (300 x > 600 mm). Heat in a 460K oven for a period of time that is in agreement with Frank & Johnston’s first order rate expression (see JACOS, 21, 55), or until golden brown. Once the reaction is complete, place the sheet on a 25C heat-transfer table, allowing the product to come to equilibrium. Unknown Source

Bennedict and Soft Egg Pasta

Yesterday I grabbed a beer with my friend Bennedict, it's been about a year, and it was great catching up. Maybe not the best picture I've ever taken, but it is a good one of Dan. Tonight I wanted to try out the recipe for the soft egg ravioli at Prima. It was really easy. A little egg yolk, a little ricotta, some fresh pasta sheets. Boil for 2 minutes. Top with a butter- truffle oil sauce and some grated cheese. It is so good. I am in a serious food coma right now. It's a good thing it doesn't take a lot of energy to watch baseball. I do need to clean my apartment tonight, so I hope to snap out of it soon.